Veteran journalist Paul Bauman, based in Sacramento, covers Northern California professional, collegiate and junior tennis. Contact him at norcaltennisczar@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @norcaltenczar.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Serena enters Mubadala Classic in San Jose

Serena Williams poses after beating Angelique Kerber in 2014
for her third title in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
Tri Nguyen/TriNguyenPhotography.com

In March, the consensus greatest male player of all time made his first appearance in the San Francisco Bay Area.
This summer, probably the greatest female player ever plans to play in the Bay Area for the first time in four years.
Serena Williams, attempting a comeback at 36 after having her first child last September, is scheduled to play in the inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at San Jose State. The tournament, which replaces the longtime Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, is set for July 30-Aug. 5.
Roger Federer defeated Jack Sock 7-6 (9), 6-4 on March 5 in a lighthearted exhibition before a sellout crowd of 17,496 at SAP Arena in San Jose.
Williams won the Bank of the West in 2011, 2012 and 2014. She owns 23 Grand Slam singles titles, one short of Margaret Court's record.﻿﻿
Williams has played in only two tournament this year, reaching the third round at Indian Wells and losing in the first round at Miami, both in March. She withdrew from next week's Italian Open, saying she needs more time to be "100 percent ready to compete."
CiCi Bellis, a 19-year-old product of Atherton in the Bay Area, will replace Williams in the Rome draw. Bellis has been sidelined since late March with an arm injury.
Williams will join another former world No. 1, Maria Sharapova, in the San Jose field. Also entered are defending champion and 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys and two-time Bank of the West finalist CoCo Vandeweghe.
For Mubadala ticket information, go to MubadalaSVC.com or call (866) 982-8497.